Saving Money on Baby's Bum

Let's face it, taking care of baby's bum is often really expensive! Does it have to be? What are some money saving options? Here are helpful tips that helped save my family money.

Saving Money on Diapers

I know that cloth diapers aren't for everyone but they do save a lot of money. Yes, there is money out of pocket, right away, as opposed to the gradual amount with paper diapers. However, they can be used over and over. They also don't contain the chemicals that paper diapers do and reduce waste. Kelly's Closet has a great page about the basics of cloth diapers.

Seventh Generation has some compostable diapers, as do a few other brands, but I have not done any research into them.

Wipes

Making your own reusable wipes is a snap and will greatly reduce the cost of wipes. Just visit your local fabric store and purchase some flannel. Cut squares from the flannel, to whatever size you would like. I do recommend 8x8 inches, finished size, and double layering. See this blog post for a tutorial.

If you would prefer not to sew, you can purchase baby wash cloths, or regular wash cloths, to use. You can also cut up old t-shirts or old towels.

Just place used wipes in a wet bag, hanging from your changing table. How do you handle washing? Dump the used wipes in the washing machine and rinse them once, on warm (or do a short, warm wash without soap). Then wash them on warm or hot, with a detergent of your choice. I do highly recommend using Charlie's Laundry Soap or Buckaroo Organics Soapberry Suds (both are safe for cloth diapers and leave no residue in your washing machine).

Wipes Solution

Now that you have wipes, what do you do to moisten them? Liquid castille soap. You can buy this in bulk from Amazon. I recommend using 1 tbsp castille soap to 1 cup of water. You can place the solution in a spray bottle. Spray some on the wipe or directly on your sweet one's bum.

We still have 3/4 of a one gallon container! That's how much we used for Henry, over the course of 21 months.